GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA INC. Volume 18 Number 2—September 1997 GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF TASMANIA INC. PO Box 60 Prospect Tasmania 7250 Patron: Emeritus Professor Michael Roe Executive: President Mrs Anne Bartlett (03) 6344 5258 Vice President Mr David Harris (03) 6424 5328 Vice President Mr Rex Collins (03) 6431 1113 Executive Secretary Executive Treasurer Ms Sharalyn Walters (03) 6452 2845 Committee: Mrs Elaine Burton Mr Peter Cocker Mrs Dawn Collins Mr John Dare Mrs Isobel Harris Mrs Pat Harris Mrs Denise McNeice Mrs Colleen Read Mrs Rosalie Riley Mrs Dian Smith By-laws Officer Mrs Denise McNeice (03) 6228 3564 Exchange Journal Coordinator Mrs Thelma McKay (03) 6229 3149 Journal Editor Mrs Rosemary Davidson (03) 6278 2464 Journal Coordinator Mr David Hodgson (03) 6229 7185 Library Coordinator Huon Branch (03) 6264 1335 Members’ Interests Mr Allen Wilson (03) 6244 1837 Membership Secretary Ms Vee Maddock (03) 6243 9592 or 015 311 400 Publications Coordinator Mrs Anne Bartlett (03) 6344 5258 Public Officer Mr Jim Wall (03) 6248 1773 Research Coordinator Mr John Dare (03) 6424 7889 Sales Coordinator Mrs Pat Harris (03) 6344 3951 TAMIOT Coordinator Mrs Betty Calverley (03) 6344 5608 VDL Heritage Index Mr Neil Chick (03) 6228 2083 Branches of the Society Burnie: PO Box 748 Burnie Tasmania 7320 Devonport: PO Box 587 Devonport Tasmania 7310 Hobart: GPO Box 640 Hobart Tasmania 7001 Huon: PO Box 117 Huonville Tasmania 7109 Launceston: PO Box 1290 Launceston Tasmania 7250 Volume 18 Number 2 September 1997 ISSN 0159 0677 Journal Committee Rosemary Davidson, Cynthia O’Neill, Maurice Appleyard, Jeannine Connors, David Freestun, David Hodgson, Charles Hunt, Lucy Knott, Vee Maddock, Denise McNeice and Kate Ramsay. Postal Address: PO Box 60 Prospect Tasmania 7250 Email: [email protected] Contents Editorial . 82 Letters to the Editor . 83 President’s Message and Meritorious Service Awards . 85 President’s Annual Report . 86 Griffith’s Valuation of Ireland . 87 Annual General Meeting . 88 Lilian Watson Family History Award . 89 Branch News . 90 The Forgotten Women Convicts of Macquarie Harbour, Irene Schaffer . 94 Non-state Records, an untapped source, Mary Ramsay . 99 A Background to Early Judaism in Tasmania, Tom Schlesinger . 102 The Promised Land, Arch Flanagan . 105 All in the Family, Maria Brandl . 109 Van Diemen’s Land and Norfolk Island Interest Group . 112 Telling the Sarah Island Story, Hamish Maxwell-Stuart . 112 What’s in a Name? Wayne Smith . 113 Did You Know? Wayne Smith . 115 Dover, Port Esperence Burial Places—Part 1, Norm Beechey . 116 Genes on Screen, Vee Maddock . 118 Dear ... and A Little of Rita’s Story . 119 Tasmaniana Library, State Library of Tasmania, New Acquisitions . 121 Lost, Stolen or Strayed ... and Found! . 124 The Elizabeth Simpson Award . 126 Book Reviews . 128 Overseas Exchange Journals . 129 Australian Exchange Journals . 130 From the Exchange Journals, Thelma McKay . 131 Coming Events . 134 Projects Report . 136 Library Notes . 138 Society Sales . 142 Deadline dates for contributions: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October GST Inc. Hobart Branch are hosting a seminar by If you will be in Sydney at the beginning Janet Reakes of January 1998, check out the exhibition Thursday, 16 October 1997 of ‘Love Tokens’ to be held at the Hyde 7.00 p.m. Park Barracks Museum, Queens Square Glenorchy Masonic Centre Macquarie Street. It should start about Peltro Street, opposite the Police Station 5 January. These tokens, known as The topic is transportation tokens, were given by convicts to their loved ones as keepsakes Certificates & Census English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish before they were transported to Australia. certificates and census records They are very rare, and few knew of their How to access them, what’s on them, how to existence. The owner of the collection use them—availability, money saving ideas. has over 100, many of which were It will be a 2½ hour seminar with a cost of $15.00 per head engraved on the 1797 copper cartwheel penny. The quality and style differ— Book and Stationery Stall some only have a name and date while Janet is happy to answer questions, even before the seminar, so be early! others have poems and messages. The Book now to secure your place! journal committee are trying to obtain a list of the convicts, as it is unlikely the For further information contact the secretary Cynthia O’Neill (03) 6228 3175 exhibition will travel to Tasmania. We or will be interested to hear from anyone email:[email protected] who gets to see them! In each journal we aim to include all new members and their interests, and together with regular news from state, The opinions expressed in this journal are branches and libraries, it is a constant not necessarily those of the editorial balancing act to stay within the weight committee nor of the Genealogical Society constraints of posting the journal. of Tasmania Inc. Responsibility rests with However, we hope that the range of the author of a submitted article and we do subjects in this issue will be of interest. not intentionally print inaccurate inform- Congratulations to Anne Bartlett of ation. The society cannot vouch for the Launceston branch, the previous journal accuracy of offers for services or goods that editor, who is now the new president of appear in the journal, or be responsible for our society. We wish her well in her new the outcome of any contract entered into role. with an advertiser. The editor reserves the Rosemary Davidson right to edit, abridge or reject material. Cover: © The contents of Tasmanian Ancestry are View overlooking Morris’ Store & Oyster subject to the provisions of the Copyright Bay, Swansea, Tasmania Act and may not be reproduced without Pencil drawing © Greg Waddle See ‘Non-state Records, an untapped resource’ by written permission of the editor and author. Mary Ramsay, page 99, with reference to the Clark family and William Knibb Morris. 82 TASMANIAN ANCESTRY September 1997 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 3 April 1997 some other States, and there are many I am writing to say how pleased I was to extracts from the Tasmanian Crime see the March issue of the Journal Report [the title of the Tasmanian Police devoted to police records - a fascinating Gazette] within them. ... There are nearly source for the genealogist, and vastly 10,000 entries, and some contain underused. Congratulations on a most information which it would be hard to interesting issue. locate anywhere else. For example: Could I just point out however, that the In December 1880 Simon Finn of extracts from the Victoria Police Gazette Hamilton Tasmania sought information which I forwarded, and which were on his brother John, who arrived in published in 1987–88 in the Journal, did Melbourne per ship Somersetshire in not relate to former Tasmanians who had January 1875. joined the Victorian police force, but In July 1879 the American Consul, on simply to Tasmanians who were behalf of Charles E. Green of New York, mentioned, for various reasons, in the sought information on Merrill Green, Gazettes. who arrived in Hobart in the whaling Those Tasmanians who did apply to join vessel Kingston in 1846 and was the Victorian police force, and whose imprisoned for neglect of duty. letters of application have survived, are In October 1869 information was sought given in my index to Candidates for the of George Hanbury Learmonth, a native Victoria Police Part One 1852–1872. of Launceston, who was last heard of The Hobart branch has a copy of this over two years before, as being on his microfiche. I have recently completed way to the Peak Down diggings, Parts Two and Three of this Index, and Queensland. further Tasmanians, including police In many cases the original letter of members, are included. For example, enquiry and the subsequent police Daniel Burke wrote from Moriarty in investigation. has survived, and is held 1893; he had been in the force seven within police correspondence files, but is years, but ‘there are so many Sub not always easily located. A copy of our Inspectors above me with Political book Cops and Robbers. A guide to Influence at their backs that I see no researching 19th century police and chance of promotion for many years ... ’ criminal records in Victoria Australia is, I enclose details as to the availability and I think, also held in the Hobart branch cost of these fiche. library, and this gives details of how to I have also just completed an Index to access the correspondence files. Tasmanians in the Victoria Police I hope this additional information is of Gazette 1853–1893. This gives the name use to your members. of the person and the date the information appeared in the Gazette. The Gazettes Yours sincerely, are freely available in Victoria, unlike Helen D. Harris, OAM TASMANIAN ANCESTRY September 1997 83 LETTERS continued 12 May 1997 Thank you very much for printing the The Mercury ‘A Triple Wedding?’ on page 247 of 27 January 1925 Volume 17 Number 4—March 1997. The last wedding, Isaac Henry Biggs Draper who married Annie Hodgins, was FIFTY YEARS AGO. of great interest to me. Annie Hodgins (From “The Mercury” of was the sister of my Great Grandfather, January 27, 1875.) Adam Hodgins of Somerset House, Elizabeth Street, Hobart. Annie was born The trumpery offences which are on 2 October, 1832 in Barnane, County occasionally brought before the Tipperary Ireland, and migrated together magistrates at the City Police with her parents Thomas and Elizabeth Court are really laughable. The (nee Lee) Hodgins and several of her time of the bench of magistrates, siblings around 1840. the whole of the court staff, and the Unfortunately I do not know what reporters is wasted over such happened to Annie after her marriage to charges as that of stealing a Isaac Biggs and can find no further threepenny walking-stick, a penny references either to her or to her family.